A company's ultimate goal is to increase profits. While many companies grow profits ethically, others maximize profits unethically via marketing, slashing employee expenses, lowering product quality or impacting the environment negatively. Unethical business practices can lead to smeared public relations and a loss of trust and respect on the part of the consumer.

Employees

One of the fastest ways to maximize profit and reduce costs is to slash employee expenses. In many industries, payroll makes up a large percentage of overall costs for a company. Employee pay for restaurants, for example, routinely hovers around 20 to 25 percent of total costs, according to Forbes. Slashing employee expenses and removing benefits is an ethical issue that can cause poor morale in the workplace. Poor morale in a small-business workplace can lead to devastating results, particularly if the business only employs a handful of people. It's unethical in many people's eyes to cut employee pay and benefits in an attempt to pad the profit numbers, but many companies opt for such a strategy because it's quick, proven and effective.

Marketing

Marketing has a strong relationship with a company's profits. A solid marketing strategy can grow a brand, attract consumers and ultimately build profits. However, in attempt to maximize profits, companies often straddle the line of what's ethically right and wrong when it comes to marketing. Examples of questionable ethics in regards to marketing include the placement of sexual ads in an attempt to attract people to a product or service, targeting children in advertisements and using violence as a means to draw attention to a product or service.

Environmental

The production of most items has some type of environmental impact. Companies that want to grow profits may use unethical environmental practices by increasing pollution, contaminating water supplies and destroying forests. It's often less costly to negatively impact the environment than it is to positively impact it. For example, a small business that's still growing may not have a lot of extra funds. It's less costly for the business to continue operating with a plant that produces a lot of pollution than to remodel or build a safer plant. These companies often have to adhere to certain environmental laws in the United States and other developed countries, but the laws often just prevent excessive environmental damage, not mild or moderate damage.

Quality

The cost of goods is usually one of the highest expenses a company deals with. Companies can reduce the quality of the goods and still sell the goods at the same price to maximize profit. By doing so, however, they cross the line into an unethical business practice. The danger of reducing quality to maximize profit is damage to the company's brand name and a loss of both consumer respect and trust. As small businesses rely on consumer respect and trust, the loss of both can have significant repercussions that slow growth and lead to reduced revenue.